Here's how the Sonic statue looked before its restoration...
Image: Badnik Mechanic

In Japan, tucked away inside the remote woodlands of the Kansai region's Mie Prefecture, is a lonely, mysterious statue of Sonic the Hedgehog riding a snowboard. That's a good enough story in itself, you're surely thinking, but it gets better.

According to Polygon, some of the earliest photographs of the statue date back to 2009, although its popularity and fame have grown in recent years thanks to its appearance in a number of YouTube videos. The history behind the statue and its reason for being plonked on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere has confused fans for some time now, and the condition of the statue has been slowly deteriorating.

The weather hasn't been kind to Sonic, slowly but surely ruining his glorious blue coat, and several years ago his nose was smashed off. Now, though, in circumstances just as mysterious as his original appearance, he's been completely restored with a new nose and a fantastic makeover.

https://twitter.com/sagara7791/status/1292734072930754560?

So, seriously, where did the statue come from in the first place? Well, the best answer we have so far comes from fansite Sonic Stadium, who says that "the statue once belonged to an official SEGA World theme park, a few towns away from its current location. Sonic was purchased by a group of local farmers and industrialists who live nearby, and he has been living in the woods for around 10-15 years."

Assuming this is true, does this mean that these local farmers are also responsible for Sonic's new glow-up? We can't really imagine a group of locals working day and night to give Sonic a much-needed sparkle, but who knows?

If you're interested in learning more about the Sonic statue's history, feel free to check out this video below.

[source polygon.com]